Baikonur Cosmodrome Kazachstan

 Baikonur Cosmodrome Kazachstan

The Baikonur Cosmodrome Kazachstan is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian crewed spaceflights are launched from Baikonur as well as commercial satellite launches conducted by GK Launch services and ILS. The site is situated in the Kazakh Steppe, some 90m (300ft) above sea level, it is 200km (120miles) to the east of the Aral Sea and north of the Syr Darya.

The launch site is close to Töretam, a station on the Trans-Aral Railway. Russia, as the official successor state to the Soviet Union, has retained control over the facility since 1991; it originally assumed this role through the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), but ratified an agreement with Kazakhstan in 2005 that allowed it to lease the spaceport until 2050. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is jointly managed by Roscosmos and the Russian Aerospace Forces.